8 states,UTs get 12 hr power supply per day, Ramesh

Published: Monday, April 28, 2008, 15:12 [IST]

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New Delhi, Apr 28 (UNI) Only ten states and union territories (UTs) have received electricity for the farm sector for almost 24 hours a day while eight states and UTs have suffered power cuts for nearly 12 hours a day, Minister of state for Power and Commerce and Industry Jairam Ramesh told the Rajya Sabha today.

In a written reply, the minister quoting the Central Electricity Authority, said four states/UTs were getting power for 13 to 18 hours.

The states/UTs suffering a huge shortfall in electricity were Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka which got upto 12 hours of power daily, he told the House.

In the case of Chandigarh, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Kerala, Puducherry, Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal, electricity to the farm sector was between 19 to 24 hours and those getting between 13 and 18 hours were Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Bihar.

Mr Ramesh said electricity, as a concurrent subject, and its supply and distribution to different categories of consumers including agricultural consumers in a state/UT fell within the purview of the state government/state power utilities concerned.

"The Government of India supplements the efforts of the state governments by establishing power plants in the central sector through Central Public Sector Undertakings, "he told the members.